I love a great romance, with alot of tension and conflict, something with spark and romantic tension. But, if we don’t believe these two are meant for each other, then the fear that they won’t find true love (which is what drives a book) won’t matter. If their happily ever after isn’t at stake then we won’t care if they achieve it. We must believe that a hero and heroine are perfect for each other. Beat 8: WHY. Why are these two perfect for each other? The core reason they belong together saves the day. Along the way, you’ll be showing each of them WHY they belong together. But at this key moment, after the breakup, they’ll realize why they belong together, and this is bigger than the WHY NOT […]
Read the RestArchive | October, 2010
The Kiss and the Heartbreak (Ten Beats of a Romance Part 3)
Last week we went over the first five beats of a romance novel. Let’s move on today and talk about the last four beats. Beat 6: The Sexual tension (the Kiss!). This is my favorite part. (Ok, I like the dialogue leading up to it too!) But, a great romance has at least 2 great kisses—sometimes three. (If you’re writing for ABA, you might have more than a kiss). Kiss One: An “introductory—I didn’t mean to, did we just do that?” Kiss Kiss Two: A, “I really want to kiss you now and I’m going to” Kiss Kiss Three: And an “I love you, and I mean it” Kiss If you have to, the last two can be combined. Of course, before the First […]
Read the RestAdding Spark to your romance (Ten Beats of a Romance part 2)
We’re talking this week about the 10 beats in a romance – those ten elements that help us craft and structure our romance. Today, we’ll build to Beat 5: Sparks! A great romance has a lot of Sparks! I love a book or movie with great dialogue. It’s that spark between the hero and heroine that make us fall in love with them. You want to build in some witty conversation, and especially FIGHTS! A great fight causes great tension. My two favorite scenes in While You Were Sleeping are the couch scene and the walk home/leaning scene. But have great dialogue where they share their hearts. Often this happens when they are in a fight…so, think of a place where your hero/heroine could have ONE great […]
Read the RestTen Beats of a Romance Part 1
We’ve taken a little hiatus from our How to Write a Romance blogs over the past two months – but it’s time to get back to work! As we got this year started, we had a chat about the 10 beats or points in standard romance. Over the next two weeks, we’re going to recap just a bit before we continue on and dive into how to create these points. Every genre book out there has key elements—things that we expect from that genre novel. A suspense has a ticking time bomb, and a deadline. A mystery has a dead body, and red herrings. A romance has elements too that we expect. Now, people might say that because of this, a romance if predictable. […]
Read the Rest
